


Choices

by peacehopeandrats



Series: Monthly Rumbelling 2021 [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling January 2021 (Once Upon A Time), F/M, The Enchanted Forest (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28513884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacehopeandrats/pseuds/peacehopeandrats
Summary: Rumplestiltskin is called away to complete a deal he made and brings Belle along with him.A short ficlet based off of January's Monthly Rumbelling moodboard.
Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Series: Monthly Rumbelling 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088708
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Choices

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by the Monthly Rumbelling for January 2021, both the image of Rumple and the one of Belle. You can find them [here](https://a-monthly-rumbelling.tumblr.com/post/639113404836085761/prompts-for-january).This month I also prompted myself with the theme of light.
> 
> This is one fic in a series dedicated only to Monthly Rumbelling stories from all over the franchise. Eventually the purpose of this collection will all make sense, but for now, please enjoy the random storytelling.

Belle was in the middle of polishing the silverware when a purple-red bolt of fabric fell out of the sky and landed with a rush of wind in front of her. Acting on instinct alone, she gathered it up in her arms and lifted it from the kitchen table, huffing in despair at the possibility of either her hard work or the cloth being ruined. Her protest barely had enough time to form in her mind before Rumplestiltskin’s impish voice approached her from behind.

“Put it on. We’re leaving.” The click of his boots echoed through the room as he marched past her, not even bothering to pause as he spoke.

“Leaving?” She stood so that she could properly face him, arms still awkwardly fumbling with what she now assumed to be a traveler’s cloak. “Where are going?” 

Rumpelstiltskin turned on his heel and poked a finger her way. “Somewhere _you_ had a hand in sending me. This was _your_ doing and I intend for _you_ to see the end of it.”

Weeks’ worth of history played through Belle’s mind, but she couldn’t come up with a single instance where her words or actions had been an influence on anything that Rumplestiltskin had done. “I… I don’t understand,” she stammered even as she prepared herself for the journey.

“Do you remember that wagon you found coming up our road?” The Dark One narrowed his eyes at her, prepared to pass judgment on whatever answer she gave.

The image came to her immediately, a distant shape making its way along the mountain. She remembered seeing it out of the window from one of the towers and excitedly telling Rumplestiltskin that they might need to prepare for company. He’d gone to meet whoever it was and returned almost as soon as he’d departed, muttering about meeting the needs of every citizen of the realm and reminding her to keep to her own business from that point on.

“Yes,” she admitted carefully. “But that was months ago.”

He waved off her comment as if he were swatting away a fly. “Time enough for a desperate soul to make their arrangements before summoning me,” he grumped. “You sent me to speak to them and I did. Now they’ve sent word they’re willing to pay the price for my services. You insisted I deal with them, so you are coming to see the end of this deal.”

Rumplestiltskin punctuated his final order with a flick of his wrist that sent his signature cloud of purple smoke swirling about them and when it cleared the castle’s interior had vanished. Now Belle was surrounded by tall trees whose dark green leaves blotted out the blue of the late morning sky. Her senses consumed her surroundings, drinking in the sound of a breeze that sent the branches overhead trembling and the song of a bird somewhere hidden among them. The air was pleasantly crisp and she took in a breath of it, admiring its purity while watching patches of cool white sunlight dance over the dirt at her feet.

Before them stood a single, small stone cottage that looked old but well kept. It was a still place, almost lifeless, and Belle found herself preparing for turmoils hidden way behind the sturdily built walls.

“Knock, knock!” Rumplestiltskin called out into the air from some distance away, resorting to theatrics over practicality, as usual.

The door in front of them opened just wide enough to produce a small boy from inside. He couldn’t have been more than eight or nine years old yet he moved with the weight of someone who had already lived a lifetime. His clothing was old and frayed, patched over the top of old patches, and not a part of it fit him properly. The trousers were too long, the tunic too short, and the boy’s toes were poking out of his shoes.

“Dark One,” the child whispered as he shut the door behind himself. “You came.”

“Yes, well, you called,” Rumplestiltskin huffed. “And since we had an arrangement, I can only assume that you’ve fulfilled your half of our deal.”

Belle felt her mouth drop open in shock. Her eyes darted from the boy to the Dark One and back again while her mind tried to fill in the gaps of what she might be missing in their story. Rumplestiltskin wasn’t the kind of man who would make a deal with a child. She must be misunderstanding something.

“I did what you asked,” the boy announced, eying Belle with suspicion. “I have the silver coin.”

Rumplestiltskin hummed impatiently and flitted his fingers in the air to indicate the space around them. “Well, where is it?”

Quickly the boy ducked low in a bow and scrambled back toward the door. “One moment.”

When the house was sealed up again, Belle reached out and snatched Rumplestiltskin by the arm. He scoffed in protest, but allowed himself to be pulled away from the building to stand at the tree line that made up the edge of the tiny property.

“That’s a _boy_!” Belle whispered, her words harsh, but not nearly as sharp as she wished they could be.

“Congratulations,” the Dark One tittered at her. “Your skills at gender identification are without measure.” He was purposefully avoiding her gaze, staring at the cottage as if he expected it to stand up and walk away. Either he wanted her to know that her words held no meaning to him or he was avoiding her out of guilt and she suspected the latter.

Stepping around him to block his view, Belle raised a hand to indicate the modest home. “You made a _deal_ with a _child_!”

“Well, he’s not a goat.” 

Not thinking of the consequences, Belle placed her hands on the Dark One’s leather clad shoulders and forced him to meet her gaze. “This family is clearly in need of every coin they earn, yet your _price_ was a piece of silver?”

“Yes,” he hissed back, eyes turning down to stare at where her hands grasped him. “And if you’ll remember, I said this was _your_ doing, so think hard about where you place the blame, Dearie.”

“Why?” Belle released him and squared her shoulders to show him she wasn’t afraid of any threat he might hurl her way. “Why make this your price? You _make_ gold. What is one piece of silver to you?”

The door opened and Rumplestiltskin almost rushed toward it, then stopped and seemed to reconsider. Without warning, he turned back to stare at her, then slowly crept forward until he was invading her space. He circled her as he spoke in hushed tones. “One of the spells I’m working on requires silver worth more than its weight, an item very hard to come by for a man who _makes_ gold. So imagine my surprise when my maid announced that someone was approaching the castle in a cart and shouldn’t I go see who it was?

“Well, I did go, didn’t I? And who did I find but this child, a soul so desperate to save his sick mother that he would do anything for the magical cure. You see, his father was killed fighting the same ogres who took over your lands and she was all he had left in the world, so I made a deal. One piece of silver in exchange for her cure.” His hand flicked out at the house, then returned to settle on his chest. “Now that the deal is complete, the boy gets to keep his mother and _I_ get the ingredient I need for a very important and complicated traveling spell.”

“He could _use_ that silver for food or clothing,” Belle protested.

Rumplestiltskin pointed a finger at her and narrowed his eyes. “ _That_ is what makes it so valuable.”

“You could have found another way.”

“I thought you would be pleased. The terrible beast reaching out to the local poor, offering to heal the sick, helping people affected by _your_ little war with the Ogres. A life is being _saved_ today, _if_ you’ll let it.” The Dark One turned back to the boy who was hovering in the doorway. A patch of sunlight caught in the child’s tiny hand and the object he held seemed to wink at them, drawing the deal maker near.

Belle stepped forward too, chasing him with her presence as well as her words. “There must be another way. Rumplestiltskin, he’s a _child_.”

“He’ll be an _orphan_ if you continue this useless prattling.” Rumplestiltskin snapped as he made a half turn on his heel to stare at her almost from over his shoulder.. “We _all_ have choices to make and not everyone has the benefit of choosing the easiest path.”

She wanted to object, even opened her mouth to do so, but something in Rumpelstiltskin’s eyes spoke of a history she would never understand. Instead she stood, silent as a statue, and watched the Dark One produce a small vial from his vest pocket, then pluck the single coin from the boy’s trembling palm.


End file.
